A CRUISE ship carrying a councillor and his elderly mother was hit by Hurricane Sandy as it began wreaking havoc on the east coast of America.

Extreme winds and rain left a trail of devastation, with 16 reported deaths, large parts of New York City flooded and six million people without electricity on Tuesday. And Roding councillor Ian Bond had a lucky escape as the hurricane made its way south on Monday night.

His ship was moored in Boston and held against the dock wall by a number of tugboats in an attempt to prevent it being cut adrift.

And while many anxious passengers abandoned the ship, Cllr Bond, his mother and brother decided to stay put and watched as the storm passed.

Speaking as his ship safely began its journey from Boston to New York on Tuesday morning, he said: "It was still very dramatic.

"We were out on the streets of Boston yesterday as the whole city started to shut down, and that was so windy it was difficult to walk along.

"From high up inside a big ship we felt fairly safe and it was a good place to see it from.

"I just spoke to the hotel in New York and they said no power, no transport, don't come.

"Nevertheless this ship will be dumping us in New York first thing tomorrow.

"We just have to hope the power is back by tomorrow when we arrive. From the TV news it doesn't sound too hopeful.

"We're due to fly back Friday but not sure how much disruption there will be. The cruise ends tomorrow so it's the last two days in New York that are the challenge."

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